What were anti-miscegenation laws?
 
 

Why did they exist?
 

What Supreme Court case from what year ruled them unconstitutional?
 

 
Some Stats on Interracial Marriage

Between 1960 and 1992, interracial marriages in the US increased 7 fold.

In 1990, they comprised about 5% of US marriages, up from 3% in 1980.

It is predicted that 20% of all marriages will be interracial by 2050.

In CA, one-sixth of all marriages are interracial.

By 1990, more than 60% of all babies born in HI were interracial.

More than 20% of the Hawai’ian population is mixed race.

The 2000 Census counted 6.8 mln mixed race people in the US comprising 2.4% of the population.

Note: some people who are mixed race may have elected to check only one box.
 

Wu, 296

Interracial parents check boxes for their children.

1980 Census – only 35% of children with Chinese fathers were identified by their parents as white;

but 74% of those with Asian Indian fathers were identified as white.

And 62% of children with Chinese mothers but white fathers were categorized as white.

93% of those with white fathers and East Indian mothers were categorized as white.
 

What was the “paper bag test?”  See Wu 290.

 
More Stats on Interracial Marriage

Black-white marriages are the least common interracial unions; they comprise 20% of such marriages.

A majority of Americans of Japanese descent marry Americans of European descent.

The Asian American intermarriage rate is triple the African American rate.
 

Why??

Among Asian Americans are 30 times more likely to marry whites than blacks.
 
 

What are the most common male-female interracial pairings and why?

 
Public Opinion on Mixed Race Marriages

1958 Gallup Poll
96% of whites opposed

1972 Gallup Poll
73% of whites disapproved
24% of blacks disapproved

1997
33% of all polled disapproved
17% of blacks disapproved

So, number of Americans who disapprove of interracial marriage is clearly decreasing, but whites are still more disapproving than blacks.

2001 Washington Post, Harvard, Kaiser Foundation survey
Nearly half of all whites still believe it is better for people to marry someone of their own race.
 
In “The Changing Face of America,” Wu argues that “color blindness requires color consciousness.”

What does this mean?
 

Do you agree?
 

 
Movement Politics

Anti-racial categorization
Ward Connerly, CA iniative to ban government from collected information on race on 2004 ballot
 

Mixed Race Movement
RACE – Reclassify All Children Equally

 
Interracial America Debate

Randall Kennedy argues that interracial marriages should be encouraged.

How?

Why?

Do you agree?
 
 

Does a greater incidence of interracial marriage proved that race doesn’t matter any more?
 

Or, as Liu argues, that interracial healing has occurred?